~7 minute readScorpion's Tale
Stationfall
WARNING! This article contains spoilers. Avert your eyes!
Scorpia's regular hint column visits the sequel to Infocom's popular Planetfall.
Ahhh...it's November again, my favorite month! When cold winds rattle the windows, the evenings are long and dark, and winter is just around the corner: the perfect time to be indoors huddled over a warm computer. Speaking of warm, let Fred pour you a hot one tonight, because it's pretty chilly in outer space, too.
Actually, Stationfall is not a very difficult game. In fact, I'd venture to say it's easier in many respects than its predecessor, Planetfall. Perhaps, this is partially due to all the information that's just sitting there and waiting for you to read it. Rather early into the game, you'll be able to figure out much of what has happened and what is going on, with very little effort. This, in turn, makes solving most of the puzzles fairly easy. Experienced players are likely to breeze through this one in an afternoon or so.
Food is a consideration in the game, although a fairly minor one. You should have enough with you to get through without starving. There is also one food source on the station, in case you run out, but unless you've really been dragging your feet, you probably won't need it.
You'll also need to sleep once or twice during play, so it's necessary to find a safe place to bed down for the "night." Once you've done a tour of the station, however, the right spot is pretty obvious.
So, here you are, a lieutenant first class aboard the SPS Duffy. Your heroics in Planetfall got you promoted from mopping latrines to shuffling papers. Dealing with forms in octuplet may not be the most exciting job, but it's still better than what you used to do. Kinda.
At the moment, you've been ordered to take a small craft to a nearby space station and pick up some forms. You know it is going to be very routine and very boring. At least you won't be quite alone, since you get to take Floyd with you.
However, the routine suddenly becomes non-routine when you arrive at the station and find it completely deserted of human life. Obviously, something is very wrong here and it's all the more unsettling, since there were no emergency calls or transmissions from the station. Where did everyone go? Perhaps, you'd better take a look around and find out. This is more important than forms.
Using the handy maps that come with the game, you begin your explorations. Certainly, one of the first places you'll want to look at is the Station Commander's quarters, where a fair amount of interesting information is just waiting to be read (it's almost too easy). On the other hand, getting the safe open will not be so easy. The combination is nowhere to be found, but maybe you'll think of another way to open it, later on.
From there, it's just a matter of going up and down as far as possible, and seeing what else is available on the various decks. The two lowest decks are not immediately accessible, but the rest are, and you should certainly check out all of those. A few places will be dark, but there's no need to worry. You'll find a light source, eventually.
Some more interesting material will be discovered in the Science submodule, by which time you should have a good idea of just what occurred before your arrival. It isn't too pretty a picture, either.
As you wander around, you'll run into a mechanical welder every so often. I suggest you stay out of its way whenever it shows up. This is easy to do, and will have very positive effects on your life span.
By now, you've put together a good bit of information (not to mention, picked up several items of interest) and it takes no great leap of deduction to determine you need to get into the illegal village that has sprung up around the outside of the space station.
If you paid attention to descriptions as you approached the station, you probably have a good idea of how to reach it; all you need is the proper form. This is not difficult, particularly if you've read the log tape and have been careful in your searching.
The village is an interesting place, for which you will have to draw your own maps, but that is not hard to do, and there are no mazes to contend with. It's all pretty straightforward. Once there, you explore such fascinating areas as the Mayor's office, a fortune-teller's little cubbyhole, a barbershop, a grocery store, a used-spaceship dealer's, and even a small casino, among others. Take your time and examine every room carefully. A few things are hidden, and you don't want to overlook them. There's just one unnerving thing about this otherwise neat place. There are no humans here, either.
However, you will find some life here: an Arcturan balloon creature in the pet shop and an ostrich (!) in the doctor's office (we won't ask why an MD would have an ostrich for a pet), for instance. Both of them will be helpful in solving puzzles later on. All you need to do is figure out how to take them with you, but there is plenty of helpful reading matter around for that.
An item you'll probably want is a weapon. For one thing, it will make you feel a little more secure, considering the circumstances. It could even be useful in a couple of situations. On the other hand, not even the exalted rank of lieutenant first class is enough to open the armory door. But there are ways around such obstacles; just be careful of junkyards.
Let's not overlook the alien ship, either. Especially examine that message concealed in strange dots on the wall (no, it's not Morse code). It is definitely worth deciphering, even if your taste doesn't ordinarily run to unraveling secret messages.
Hmmm, I see I forgot to mention Plato. Plato is a sort of bookwormish robot who wanders in and out from time to time. He's very erudite, but not especially helpful or informative regarding the space station or what happened there. That is, not at first. However, Plato will eventually be more than happy to tell you everything you need to know. Just give him time.
So, you've read all there is to read (at least I hope so, for your sake), collected a number of promising items (many of them thoughtfully left in strategic places, since you can't carry everything at once) which you have also carefully examined, visited the great outdoors, and just about reached the end game.
As you've probably guessed, this involves reaching the two lower decks, which have been, so far, inaccessible. Now that you're this far along in the game, though, getting down there is not much of a problem. You have the key to success in your hot little hand, and now's the time to use it.
When you reach bottom, you may find yourself pestered by some berserk machinery, but this is only a minor nuisance (especially if you were careful to read all the signs you came across).
However, there is one aspect of the ending that may give some people trouble. Unfortunately, there isn't anything you can do about it. Sad, but true. You have to finish the job, unpleasant though it may be, so you might as well do what has to be done, and think about it later. Not all victories are sweet.
Well, you've saved the universe once again, and you'll probably get another promotion. I wouldn't be surprised if you go from filling out forms to having to read filled-out forms. The Space Patrol is that kind of outfit (at least it sure seems that way....).
I see by the old invisible clock on the wall it's just about that time again. Remember if you need help with an adventure game, you can reach me in the following ways (and please, don't ask for maps or complete lists of magic items from Wizardry/Bard's Tale/Whatever; those are things you have to work out on your own!):
On Delphi: Stop by the GameSIG (under the Groups and Clubs menu). On GEnie: Visit the Games Roundtable (type: Scorpia to reach the Games RT). On The Source: Send Smail to ST1030. By US mail (enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope if you live in the United States): Scorpia, PO Box 338, Gracie Station, NY NY 10028.
Until next time, happy adventuring!
Copyright 1987 by Scorpia, all rights reserved.
This article appeared in
Computer Gaming World
Nov 1987
These historical, out-of-print articles and literary works have been GNUSTOed onto InvisiClues.org for academic and research purposes.
